GEEZER BUTLER On Death Of RONNIE JAMES DIO - "If He'd Have Gone In (For A Checkup) A Year Earlier Or Two Years Earlier, They Could Have Treated Him"

Just over seven months after the tragic death of RONNIE JAMES DIO (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, RAINBOW, ELF), band mate and bassist Geezer Butler has revealed facts that may make Dio's passing even more tragic. It didn't have to happen.

"All the doctors said if he'd have gone in [for a checkup] a year earlier or two years earlier, they could have treated him," Butler told Jon Wiederhorn from Noisecreep. "But by the time Ronnie was diagnosed, he had stage four cancer, which was inoperable. The doctor hinted that it was just a matter of time and there was nothing they could do."